On Saturday, November 21st, Year 12 students Nia M-R, Olivia D, Udita D and Angela M, together with Year 11 students Ishrat C and Isobel O, competed in the Swansea University Schools' Debating Competition on the university's Singleton Campus. It was Nia's second formal competition of the week: on Tuesday, she and Sasha Y, also of Year 12, had travelled to Newtown, Powys, to compete in the quarter-finals of of the Wales Schools' Debating Championships, presenting the case for NATO's target of 2% of GDP being spent on the military.
In Swansea, all students took part in three debates: "This House would ban medical professionals from striking"; "This House believes that national teams should not attend the FIFA World Cup in Russia"; and "This House would fully fund students who choose STEM subjects at university". All teams did very well and we were delighted when Nia and Olivia qualified for the final, debating the controversial motion "This House would allow school-age children in Wales to learn an additional language instead of Welsh". The Howell's team firmly and articulately opposed this motion! Congratulations to Ishrat, Isobel and Nia for being in the top ten on individual speaker points.
